The fire started in the second-floor kitchen in the semi-attached house and spread up into the attic, fire officials said. They responded to the call at 7:51 a.m. this morning. The blaze was under control at 9.

Twenty-five units and 106 firefighters responded.

The house suffered major damage inside. The home attached to it -- 592 Armstrong -- suffered heavy smoke damage, FDNY officials said.

"I was dead asleep and I woke up to a fire," said the homeowner, who public records indicate is named Michael Guglielmetti. He said he was woken up when his nephew, Dennis, who also lives in the house, was calling his name.

He also lives in the home with his sister and mother.

"It was amazing. By the time I ran upstairs to get my mother, it was a wall of heat and smoke," Michael said. "You couldn't get through. You had to force your way through it."

His mother, Marie Guglielmetti, 84, was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The family managed to remove their dog from the home.

Fire marshals said they are investigating the cause of the fire, which is most likely electrical in nature.